Chief Minister Nitish Kumar
At the 55th annual establishment ceremony of Vishwa Shanti Stupa at Rajgir, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said that this Vishwa Shanti Stupa was built in the year 1969 by Fujii Guruji of Japan and was inaugurated by the then President VV Giri on October 25, 1969. . Since then, the program is organized here every year on October 25. In the year 2019, when Vishwa Shanti Stupa was 50 years old, we invited the then President Ramnath Kovind to Delhi and he came for this programme, which was a very big programme.
Chief Minister Nitish Kumar circumambulated the Vishwa Shanti Stupa and worshiped Lord Buddha and wished happiness, peace and prosperity for the state. On the occasion of the 55th anniversary of Vishwa Shanti Stupa, Rajgir, the Chief Minister inaugurated the newly constructed integrated building near the ropeway by unveiling the foundation stone. He inaugurated the Clean Rajgir campaign by displaying the green flag.
Buddha is much older than Rajgir.
The Chief Minister said that Lord Buddha has a very ancient connection with Rajgir. He used to live in Venuvan and then went to Gaya from here where he acquired knowledge. Since then that place has been known as Bodh Gaya. After attaining enlightenment, Lord Buddha went to “Sarnath in Uttar Pradesh” where he delivered his first sermon. After that, he again came to Rajgir and started preaching at the nearby Gridhkut mountain. After this he went to Vaishali and other places. Finally he became seriously ill and reached Kushinagar in Uttar Pradesh, where he reached Mahaparinirvana.
The Chief Minister said that we have developed all the places related to Lord Buddha in Rajgir. Previously, the conditions of Venuvan, where Lord Buddha lived, were not good. Its surface has been expanded and embellished. The road to and from Gridhkoot mountain has been repaired. A 50 feet tall statue of Lord Buddha was installed in the middle of the water at Ghodakatora. Apart from this, Buddha Smriti Park and Buddha Stupa have been built in Patna. The construction of the Buddha Samyak Darshan Museum in Vaishali is in the final stages.
I have been coming here since childhood.
He said we have an old relationship with Rajgir. We come here since childhood. After taking over the government in 2008, we stayed in Rajgir for seven days and went everywhere. The cabinet meeting was held here next to the Vishwa Shanti stupa. All the development works have been done in Rajgir, now people have many facilities and now the number of people coming to Rajgir has increased a lot.
The Chief Minister said that the Rajgir mountains, called Panch Pahari, are millions of years old. Before there were very few trees and plants here. We have planted trees here, now the greenery has increased a lot in the mountains. A zoo-safari, a nature safari and a glass bridge have been built here. Five religions have been associated with Rajgir, including Hindu, Muslim, Buddha, Jain and Sikh. We have developed places of all religions.
Each religion was given its due place
Here there are ponds from which hot water comes out. Makhdoom Saheb Kund, the great Sufi saint of the Muslim religion, has also been developed. Every three years the Malmas fair of the Hindu religion is organized here. Last year, in the year 2023, all the facilities were provided at the Malmas fair and more than three million people came here. Venuvan, the places associated with Buddhism, have been expanded and beautified and the road to Griddhakoot mountain has been repaired. Roads have been built to visit places associated with Lord Mahavira of Jainism. Here came Guru Nanak Dev of Sikhism. ‘Sheetal Kund Gurudwara’ has been built here.
